Grand Canal, Venice

The building, originally a palace, dates from the ninth century and is one of the oldest in Venice. It has existed in its present form since the mid 13th century. In the 14th and 15th centuries it was the residence in Venice of the Dukes of Ferrara. Emperor Friedrich III stayed here as their guest in 1452 and 1469.From 1608 to 1621 the Emperor's Ambassador, Georg Fugger, had his office in this palace.In 1621 the Council of the Republic allocated the building to the Turkish merchants for use as living accommodation and as a warehouse (hence the appellation "Fondaco"). At the beginning of the 19th century the palace was totally in ruins, so the city took it over and after 1858 rebuilt it in its original 13th century style; since 1880 it has been used as a museum, and today is an outstanding example of the Byzantine-Venetian mixture of styles common in the 13th century.The building currently houses the Natural History Museum (Museo di Storia Naturale).The museum gives a good idea of the animal life in the Adriatic, but its impressive array of exhibits also covers other marine areas. The associated lapidary and general zoological collections are well worth seeing.The ground floor also contains a notable exhibition of Venetian well-heads.

The Palazzo Pesaro was built between 1652 and 1710 by the masters of Venetian Late Baroque, Baldassare Longhena and Antonio Gaspari. Sansovino's Library in the Piazzetta was used as a model for the splendid facade. After the death of the last Pesaro in 1830 there was a succession of owners, until the City of Venice acquired the palace in 1902.

The outstanding feature of this huge Baroque palace, built in 1724 by Domenico Rossi, is the frieze of grotesque heads in the facade just above the water-level.The building was converted (unfortunately) from the Palazzo of Caterina Corner, Queen of Cyprus. The Corners, an old-established Venetian noble family, became so rich and powerful as a result of their sugar-cane plantation on Cyprus that the King of the island, James II, married the 18-year-old Caterina Corner in 1472. Eight months later the King died of poisoning. Caterina was forced to cede her kingdom to the Republic of Venice and in return was given Asolo as domain in exile and was allowed to spend the rest of her life (d. 1510) in her palace on the Canal Grande in a manner befitting her status. Thus Venice acquired Cyprus.Queen Caterina's palace today houses the archives of the Biennale. The main facade overlooks the Canal Grande.

Another large palace with an impressive facade, the Palazzo Dolfin-Manin was built between 1538 and 1560 by Sansovino. It was the residence of the 120th and last Doge, Ludovico Manin, during his time in office (1789-1797). Today it houses the Banca d'Italia.Manin's elevation to the office of Doge, when he declared himself in such a state of trepidation that he hardly knew what he was doing, was followed on May 12th 1797 with his being obliged to declare the dissolution of the 1,000-year-old Republic of St Mark when, with the words "It will not be needed any more", he handed over his insignia of office. He had to make his country residence, Campo Formio in Friuli, available for the negotiations that led to Napoleon's handing the "city on the water" over to Austria as a "consolation prize".

The palace, today part of the university, is one of the most important Late Gothic buildings in Venice. When Doge Francesco Foscari (1423-57) ordered its building in the 15th century it had four floors which was unknown at that time.Foscari enlarged the mainland of the Venetian Republic in the west, but neglected to formulate policy in the east and was eventually forced in 1454 to sign a declaration surrendering the Eastern Mediterranean to the Turkish Sultan. In 1457, the year of his death, Foscari was overthrown by his opponents, the Loredani family, and his son Jacopo was banished.In 1574 King Henry III of France used the palace as a residence. The main façade overlooks the Canal Grande.

The Palazzo Corner della Ca' Grande is one of the finest examples of High Renaissance architecture and today is the seat of the Prefettura (Prefecture).This huge palace (hence its name "Ca' Grande" = big house) was built in the 16th century by Jacopo Sansovino, the Italian master-builder and sculptor, for the Cornaro family. He gave the facade (overlooking the Canal Grande) Ionic columns on the first floor and Corinthian columns on the second. The interior was restored and modified in the 19th century.

This palace was built in 1556, where the Rio di San Luca flows into the Canal Grande, for the Procurator Girolamo Grimani by Michele Sanmicheli from Verona. The towering facade with its massive window arches was completed in the following year by Giangicomo, who also worked on the second story. The palazzo was completed in 1575 by Giovanni Rusconi. Alessandro Vittorio was responsible for the ornamentation of the doorway. Today it houses the Appeal Court of Venice.The main facade overlooks the Canal Grande.

The church is a fine Baroque building erected between 1670 and 1680 by Baldassare Longhena. Its facade was added between 1683 and 1669 by Guiseppe Sardi. The building is famed for its many sculptures. In the second chapel on the right is Tiepolo's fresco "The Glory of St Teresa", and the third chapel on the left contains his fresco "Christ praying in the garden of Gethsemane".The ceiling fresco by Tiepolo was destroyed by an Austrian grenade during the First World War. The present ceiling fresco is the work of Ettore Tito (1934).

The palace dates back to the 12th century and was built in the Venetian-Byzantine style. Alvise da Mosto, the first European to sail round Cape Verde in West Africa in 1465, was born in this house in 1432. Between the 16th and the 18th centuries the Ca' da Mosto housed the well-known Leon Bianco (White Lion) Hotel. In 1769 and 1775 the German Emperor and son of Maria Theresa, Joseph II, lived here during his stay in Venice.The main facade overlooks the Canal Grande.

This palace is a perfect example of Venetian Renaissance architecture and towards the end of the last century many of its elements were copied throughout Europe.The palace was built between 1480 and 1504 by Mauro Coducci. At first it belonged to the Loredan family, then in the 16th century to the Calergi family, and finally in the 18th century it came into the hands of the Vendramin family. Richard Wagner died here in 1883.

Palazzo Loredan dell'Ambasciatore is a marvelous Gothic palace with two especially interesting sea-horses created by a follower of Vittoria on the facade.In the 18th century the palace was the residence of the Ambassador of the Holy Roman Empire, hence its popular name "Palazzo dell'Ambasciatore (Ambassador's Palace).The main facade overlooks the Canal Grande.

As well as the twin-arched windows and the curved balconies, the particularly remarkable feature of this palace is its upper story with its rich yet well-ordered ornamentation. The interior was designed in 1542 by Sanmicheli.The main facade overlooks the Canal Grande.

The church, which was built in 1678 by Giovanni Grassi, is in the shape of a Greek cross. The facade on the Grand Canal was added thirty years later in 1709 by the master-builder Domenico Rossi. The funds came from Alvise Mocenigo II who was Doge from 1700-1709, and who is buried in the church.The interior is decorated with early 18th century works, including G. B. Piazetta's "The Martyrdom of St James the Great", Sebastiano Ricci's "The Freeing of St Peter", "The Torment of St Bartholomew" by G.B. Tiepolo and "The Crucifixion of St Andrew" by G.A. Pellegrini.

For centuries the only bridge over the Canal Grande was the Ponte di Rialto, then in 1854 Austria, the occupying power since 1815 when Venice became part of the Habsburg Kingdom of Lombardy-Veneto, decided to erect a second footbridge and the Ponte dell'Accademia, a small iron bridge, was built. In 1932 the iron bridge was demolished and replaced by a wooden bridge. Looked upon as a temporary measure, it was to be replaced by a stone bridge, but this was never built.

Dating only from 1907 the market hall near the Rialto Bridge was built by Domenico Rupolo and Cesare Laurenti in Gothic style on the site of the traditional fish market, its skillful architecture (especially the ingenious capitals on the columns) and the activity among the various stalls make it an attractive feature of Venice. The building was constructed according to a centuries old method on over 18,000 larch wood piles.

Musical gondola trips on the Canal Grande from May to September, departing at 9 pm from Bauer-Grünwald Hotel.